Low-Sugar Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Have you ever eaten a piece of fruit and said, “this is the best darn [insert name of fruit here] I ever had”?  I’ve been saying that daily with strawberries and every time I do, my kids roll their eyes with that look like, “here we go again.”  It’s just that when strawberries are so deep red, fragrant, juicy and sweet as they have been, I get emotional.  I also want to take a minute to enjoy them since their season doesn’t last forever.

I hadn’t made dessert for the kids in a while.  So I thought it would be fun to surprise them with something special after dinner on Sunday, and I wanted to incorporate strawberries.  One of the easiest and quickest desserts to make is fruit shortcakes.  The classic is strawberry shortcake, but I have used blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, nectarines and (my favorite) peaches.  I do not exaggerate when I say that you will have your biscuits on the pan ready to be baked before your oven is preheated.   For that reason, it’s an especially fun dessert to make with your kids.  They can knead the dough, cut out the biscuits, brush the tops with cream and sprinkle them with sugar.  I had a great time baking these with Mr. Picky, who was very proud when he announced to everyone that he made dessert.  The kids love strawberry shortcake because they can assemble their own and pile on as much fruit and whipped cream as they want.  I like it because it is a very low sugar dessert, maybe 1 1/2 teaspoons per person which doesn’t even get a sugar nazi like me worked up.  So many fruit desserts call for silly amounts of sugar which is unnecessary if the fruit tastes good to start.  I want the dessert to taste like the fruit I am using and not just sweet.

Traditionally strawberry shortcake is just a barely sweetened biscuit split with whipped cream and fresh fruit piled onto the bottom half of the biscuit.   But who wants to stick with tradition all the time?  Besides mixing it up with different fruits, we have also had fun using toppings other than whipped cream.  Have you tried my favorite way?  A biscuit with yogurt, strawberries and sliced almonds?  Freakin’ delicious.  When the kids were much younger, I used to do mini-shortcakes which are great for little ones or for a party .  You can add mini-chocolate chips to the dough or shave some dark chocolate on top of your berries and cream.   If whipped cream and yogurt aren’t your thing, try putting a can of coconut milk in the fridge for a few hours and scoop the top out and use that instead.  However you slice it, strawberry shortcake is a classic dessert that is always welcome!

Low-Sugar Strawberry Shortcake

Pamela
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Servings 0 makes 8-9 shortcakes

Ingredients
  

  • Shortcakes:
  • 2 cups flour I like 1 cup whole wheat pastry and 1 cup all-purpose
  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 Tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
  • 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar + additional for sprinkling on top
  • ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
  • 1 cup heavy cream half and half or whole milk
  • Whipped cream whole yogurt or coconut milk cream
  • Fresh sliced strawberries or other seasonal fruit
  • Whipped Cream:
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Place the flour(s), salt, baking powder and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse a couple times to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles small peas or pebbles. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
  • Add the cream and blend with a fork until just combined.
  • Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple times to bring the dough together. Roll out to a ¾-inch thick disc and cut into 2 ½ -inch circles with a round cookie cutter or small glass dipped in flour. Gather the scraps, roll again and cut more rounds until you have used up all the dough. Transfer the dough pieces to the prepared pan and space evenly apart.
  • This is optional, but it creates a light golden color: remove 1 Tablespoon of cream from the cup for whipped cream and use that to brush the tops of the shortcakes. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake 17 minutes, or until puffed and lightly browned.
  • Cool the shortcakes slightly on a wire rack.
  • Whip the heavy cream with sugar until soft peaks form. Dollop on a split shortcake and serve with fresh berries.
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Pumpkin pie

 

There are very few recipes that debuted on my first Thanksgiving menu 16 years ago that are still going strong today.  Roast turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes are staples year after year, as is a traditional pumpkin pie.  Despite all my rantings about how destructive sugar is to your health,  I honestly can’t imagine Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.  I wouldn’t even care if no one liked it, I would still make two of them.  I remember the first pumpkin pie I ever made when I was in high school.  I followed the recipe on the can of Libby’s pumpkin puree and poured it into a store-bought pie crust.  Heaven.

 

Since then I have adjusted the recipe to be much more wholesome, and dare I say, much more delicious.  I traded in store-bought piecrust for homemade, canned pumpkin (bye-bye BPA) for freshly roasted (hello yummy rich pumpkin flavor), refined sugar for maple syrup (and much less of it), and canned evaporated milk for heavy cream.  Sure, heavy cream is rich in saturated fat, but I would rather eat a couple of spoonfuls of a high quality organic cream than canned milk.  Would you ever drink canned milk or feed it to your kids?  I didn’t think so.  I use organic raw cream when I can get it, or I buy a nonhomogenized, but pasteurized organic cream from Straus Family Creamery.  I have made a dairy-free version of this pie using coconut milk and it’s just as delicious (it does not taste like coconut, either.)  Of course there’s still lots of butter in the crust.  Last year, I made one pie with a white flour-based crust and another with a whole wheat pastry flour-based crust.  Only my sister-in-law and I liked the whole wheat one.  As my mother-in-law says, “You two like anything that you know is good for you.”  Partially true.  This year I will go back to all white flour pie crusts and the wholesomeness comes to an end right there.

Speaking of which, I am quite conscientious about consuming very little sugar during the year, but come Thanksgiving I feel like I have earned a piece of pie (or two) and I don’t feel bad about enjoying it.  The problem comes the next day when I’m looking for that sugar fix again at 4:00 in the afternoon.  And the next day.  And the day after that.  Guess what?  I’m not alone.  Thanksgiving starts not only the beginning of the holiday season, but a time when lots of people pack on a few extra pounds from overindulging too often.  I love celebrating just as much as the next person, but I definitely don’t love trying to lose weight (it’s not as easy as it used to be!)  I look forward to Thanksgiving dinner and dessert, especially after I’ve worked so hard to make it special and delicious, but this year I’m going to be a little more mindful the next day.  At least until Christmas.

 

Pumpkin Pie

Pamela
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Servings 0 makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients
  

  • Pie Crust:
  • 1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose white flour or spelt flour
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup 1stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
  • 2-4 Tablespoons ice water
  • Filling:
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • pinch of ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup heavy cream or coconut milk not light
  • 1 3/4 cups fresh or canned pumpkin puree 1 15-ounce can
  • 3 large eggs
  • 6 Tablespoons pure maple syrup or brown sugar

Instructions
 

  • Make the crust: Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the butter and pulse 10 times.
  • Turn the food processor on and slowly pour in 2 Tablespoons ice water. Stop the machine and carefully (watch the blade!) grab a small handful of dough and squeeze it in your hand. If it holds together well, you’re done. If it’s crumbly, add another tablespoon of ice water and blend. The goal is that when you squeeze the mixture in your hand that it forms a moist, but not sticky ball of dough. Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and shape into a disc. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, flour a rolling pin and roll dough into a 12-inch round. While you’re rolling out the pastry, you should always be able to move it easily around the work surface without sticking. Add additional dustings of flour as needed. Fit the circle into a 9-inch pie plate and crimp edges. Refrigerate if it feels too soft.
  • Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Line the crust with a piece of parchment (like the one the dough was wrapped in), and fill it with pie weights or dried beans (the ones in the photo I've had since college!). Bake until lightly golden around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove parchment and weights. Return crust to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes until light golden all over. Cool completely on a wire rack (this can take up to an hour so you may want to turn the oven off.)
  • Preheat the oven again to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the salt and spices (if you are using brown sugar instead of syrup, add the sugar now.)
  • In a large bowl or with a mixer, whisk together cream, pumpkin puree, eggs and maple syrup. Add spice mixture and combine thoroughly.
  • Pour mixture into the cooled crust and bake until filling is set (it will jiggle like gelatin, but it will be a little soft in the center), about 50-60 minutes. The filling will firm up as it cools. This can be made the day before. I like to keep it refrigerated.
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